diff --git a/app-config.yaml b/app-config.yaml
index 2d7f31e72dfae..5b704f9b8ed92 100644
--- a/app-config.yaml
+++ b/app-config.yaml
@@ -76,23 +76,27 @@ catalog:
       privateToken:
         $secret:
           env: AZURE_PRIVATE_TOKEN
-  exampleEntityLocations:
-    github:
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/artist-lookup-component.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/playback-order-component.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/podcast-api-component.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/queue-proxy-component.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/searcher-component.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/playback-lib-component.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/www-artist-component.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/shuffle-api-component.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/react-ssr-template/template.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/springboot-grpc-template/template.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/create-react-app/template.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/cookiecutter-golang/blob/master/template.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/docs-template/template.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/hello-world-api.yaml
-      - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/streetlights-api.yaml
+
+  locations:
+    # Backstage example components
+    - type: github
+      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-components.yaml
+
+    # Example component for github-actions
+    - type: github
+      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/github-actions/examples/sample.yaml
+
+    # Example component for techdocs
+    - type: github
+      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/techdocs-backend/examples/documented-component/documented-component.yaml
+
+    # Backstage example APIs
+    - type: github
+      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-apis.yaml
+
+    # Backstage example templates
+    - type: github
+      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/all-templates.yaml
 
 auth:
   providers:
diff --git a/docs/features/software-templates/adding-templates.md b/docs/features/software-templates/adding-templates.md
index 4f7af7c0151da..1472986c2a4b9 100644
--- a/docs/features/software-templates/adding-templates.md
+++ b/docs/features/software-templates/adding-templates.md
@@ -105,13 +105,6 @@ curl \
 This should then have added the catalog, and also should now be listed under the
 create page at http://localhost:3000/create.
 
-Alternatively, if you want to get setup with some mock templates that are
-already provided, run the following to load those templates:
-
-```
-yarn lerna run mock-data
-```
-
 The `type` field which is chosen in the request to add the `template.yaml` to
 the Service Catalog here, will be come the `PreparerKey` which will be used to
 select the `Preparer` when creating a job.
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/running-backstage-locally.md b/docs/getting-started/running-backstage-locally.md
index 04be6499c6bf1..8b19910c8f68c 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/running-backstage-locally.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/running-backstage-locally.md
@@ -48,12 +48,10 @@ yarn start
 
 That starts up a backend instance on port 7000.
 
-In the other window, we will first populate the catalog with some nice mock data
-to look at, and then launch the frontend. These commands are run from the
-project root, not inside the backend directory.
+In the other window, we will then launch the frontend. This command is run from
+the project root, not inside the backend directory.
 
 ```bash
-yarn lerna run mock-data
 yarn start
 ```
 
diff --git a/microsite/blog/2020-08-05-announcing-backstage-software-templates.md b/microsite/blog/2020-08-05-announcing-backstage-software-templates.md
index 51c1da2885653..81d495e1c3fae 100644
--- a/microsite/blog/2020-08-05-announcing-backstage-software-templates.md
+++ b/microsite/blog/2020-08-05-announcing-backstage-software-templates.md
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ You can customize Backstage Software Templates to fit your organization’s stan
 
 ## Getting started
 
-The sample Software Templates are available under `/create`. If you're setting up Backstage for the first time, follow [Getting Started with Backstage](https://backstage.io/docs/getting-started/) and go to `http://localhost:3000/create`. If you’ve already been running Backstage locally, run the command `yarn lerna run mock-data` to load the new sample templates into the Service Catalog first.
+The sample Software Templates are available under `/create`. If you're setting up Backstage for the first time, follow [Getting Started with Backstage](https://backstage.io/docs/getting-started/) and go to `http://localhost:3000/create`.
 
 ![available-templates](assets/2020-08-05/templates.png)
 
diff --git a/packages/backend/README.md b/packages/backend/README.md
index 860520f4b5053..c45a0d28d9b41 100644
--- a/packages/backend/README.md
+++ b/packages/backend/README.md
@@ -43,21 +43,13 @@ The backend starts up on port 7000 per default.
 
 ## Populating The Catalog
 
-If you want to use the catalog functionality, you need to add so called locations
-to the backend. These are places where the backend can find some entity descriptor
-data to consume and serve.
+If you want to use the catalog functionality, you need to add so called
+locations to the backend. These are places where the backend can find some
+entity descriptor data to consume and serve. For more information, see
+[Software Catalog Overview - Adding Components to the Catalog](https://backstage.io/docs/features/software-catalog/software-catalog-overview#adding-components-to-the-catalog).
 
-To get started, you can issue the following after starting the backend, from inside
-the `plugins/catalog-backend` directory:
-
-```bash
-yarn mock-data
-```
-
-You should then start seeing data on `localhost:7000/catalog/entities`.
-
-The catalog currently runs in-memory only, so feel free to try it out, but it will
-need to be re-populated on next startup.
+For convenience we already include some statically configured example locations
+in `app-config.yaml` under `catalog.locations`. For local development you can override these in your own `app-config.local.yaml`.
 
 ## Authentication
 
diff --git a/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-apis.yaml b/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-apis.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..33b000d1aeedf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-apis.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+apiVersion: backstage.io/v1alpha1
+kind: Location
+metadata:
+  name: example-apis
+  description: A collection of all Backstage example APIs
+spec:
+  type: github
+  targets:
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/hello-world-api.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/streetlights-api.yaml
diff --git a/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-components.yaml b/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-components.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..cad4eee04414c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-components.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+apiVersion: backstage.io/v1alpha1
+kind: Location
+metadata:
+  name: example-components
+  description: A collection of all Backstage example components
+spec:
+  type: github
+  targets:
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/artist-lookup-component.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/playback-order-component.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/podcast-api-component.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/queue-proxy-component.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/searcher-component.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/playback-lib-component.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/www-artist-component.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/shuffle-api-component.yaml
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.yaml.hbs b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.yaml.hbs
index bdd933e81018c..7b86b4f50e5d1 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.yaml.hbs
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.yaml.hbs
@@ -51,25 +51,12 @@ catalog:
   locations:
     # Backstage example components
     - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/artist-lookup-component.yaml
-    - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/playback-order-component.yaml
-    - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/podcast-api-component.yaml
-    - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/queue-proxy-component.yaml
-    - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/searcher-component.yaml
-    - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/playback-lib-component.yaml
-    - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/www-artist-component.yaml
-    - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/shuffle-api-component.yaml
-    - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/hello-world-api.yaml
+      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-components.yaml
+
+    # Backstage example APIs
     - type: github
-      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/streetlights-api.yaml
+      target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/all-apis.yaml
+
     # Backstage example templates
     - type: github
       target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/react-ssr-template/template.yaml
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/README.md b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/README.md
index f94904a930a98..5583bff6258ee 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/README.md
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/README.md
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
 This package is an EXAMPLE of a Backstage backend.
 
 The main purpose of this package is to provide a test bed for Backstage plugins
-that have a backend part. Feel free to experiment locally or within your fork
-by adding dependencies and routes to this backend, to try things out.
+that have a backend part. Feel free to experiment locally or within your fork by
+adding dependencies and routes to this backend, to try things out.
 
 Our goal is to eventually amend the create-app flow of the CLI, such that a
 production ready version of a backend skeleton is made alongside the frontend
@@ -33,34 +33,32 @@ LOG_LEVEL=debug \
 yarn start
 ```
 
-Substitute `x` for actual values, or leave them as
-dummy values just to try out the backend without using the auth or sentry features.
+Substitute `x` for actual values, or leave them as dummy values just to try out
+the backend without using the auth or sentry features.
 
 The backend starts up on port 7000 per default.
 
 ## Populating The Catalog
 
-If you want to use the catalog functionality, you need to add so called locations
-to the backend. These are places where the backend can find some entity descriptor
-data to consume and serve.
+If you want to use the catalog functionality, you need to add so called
+locations to the backend. These are places where the backend can find some
+entity descriptor data to consume and serve. For more information, see
+[Software Catalog Overview - Adding Components to the Catalog](https://backstage.io/docs/features/software-catalog/software-catalog-overview#adding-components-to-the-catalog).
 
-To get started, you can issue the following after starting the backend, from inside
-the `plugins/catalog-backend` directory:
-
-```bash
-yarn mock-data
-```
-
-You should then start seeing data on `localhost:7000/catalog/entities`.
-
-The catalog currently runs in-memory only, so feel free to try it out, but it will
-need to be re-populated on next startup.
+To get started quickly, this template already includes some statically configured example locations
+in `app-config.yaml` under `catalog.locations`. You can remove and replace these locations as you
+like, and also override them for local development in `app-config.local.yaml`.
 
 ## Authentication
 
-We chose [Passport](http://www.passportjs.org/) as authentication platform due to its comprehensive set of supported authentication [strategies](http://www.passportjs.org/packages/).
+We chose [Passport](http://www.passportjs.org/) as authentication platform due
+to its comprehensive set of supported authentication
+[strategies](http://www.passportjs.org/packages/).
 
-Read more about the [auth-backend](https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/auth-backend/README.md) and [how to add a new provider](https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/docs/auth/add-auth-provider.md)
+Read more about the
+[auth-backend](https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/auth-backend/README.md)
+and
+[how to add a new provider](https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/docs/auth/add-auth-provider.md)
 
 ## Documentation
 
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/README.md b/plugins/catalog-backend/README.md
index 7c52dfad729b1..1b4a653f4a641 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/README.md
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/README.md
@@ -21,12 +21,9 @@ To evaluate the catalog and have a greater amount of functionality available, in
 # in one terminal window, run this from from the very root of the Backstage project
 cd packages/backend
 yarn start
-
-# open another terminal window, and run the following from the very root of the Backstage project
-yarn lerna run mock-data
 ```
 
-This will launch the full example backend and populate its catalog with some mock entities.
+This will launch the full example backend, populated some example entities.
 
 ## Links
 
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/package.json b/plugins/catalog-backend/package.json
index c1b20ed7bbc9a..d1711cf3d5bd7 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/package.json
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/package.json
@@ -17,9 +17,7 @@
     "test": "backstage-cli test",
     "prepack": "backstage-cli prepack",
     "postpack": "backstage-cli postpack",
-    "clean": "backstage-cli clean",
-    "mock-data": "./scripts/mock-data.sh",
-    "mock-data:local": "./scripts/mock-data-local.sh"
+    "clean": "backstage-cli clean"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/backend-common": "^0.1.1-alpha.21",
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/scripts/mock-data-local.sh b/plugins/catalog-backend/scripts/mock-data-local.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 3bea819319927..0000000000000
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/scripts/mock-data-local.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-for FILE in \
-  ../../packages/catalog-model/examples/*.yaml \
-; do \
-  curl \
-    --location \
-    --request POST 'localhost:7000/catalog/locations' \
-    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-    --data-raw "{\"type\": \"file\", \"target\": \"../catalog-model/${FILE}\"}"
-  echo
-done
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/scripts/mock-data.sh b/plugins/catalog-backend/scripts/mock-data.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 92ec64728142a..0000000000000
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/scripts/mock-data.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-for URL in \
-  'artist-lookup-component.yaml' \
-  'playback-order-component.yaml' \
-  'podcast-api-component.yaml' \
-  'queue-proxy-component.yaml' \
-  'searcher-component.yaml' \
-  'playback-lib-component.yaml' \
-  'www-artist-component.yaml' \
-  'shuffle-api-component.yaml' \
-  'petstore-api.yaml' \
-  'streetlights-api.yaml' \
-; do \
-  curl \
-    --location \
-    --request POST 'localhost:7000/catalog/locations' \
-    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-    --data-raw "{\"type\": \"github\", \"target\": \"https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/${URL}\"}"
-  echo
-done
diff --git a/plugins/github-actions/scripts/sample.yaml b/plugins/github-actions/examples/sample.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from plugins/github-actions/scripts/sample.yaml
rename to plugins/github-actions/examples/sample.yaml
diff --git a/plugins/github-actions/package.json b/plugins/github-actions/package.json
index e55a195f6ed1a..25508a91ffe1a 100644
--- a/plugins/github-actions/package.json
+++ b/plugins/github-actions/package.json
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@
     "diff": "backstage-cli plugin:diff",
     "prepack": "backstage-cli prepack",
     "postpack": "backstage-cli postpack",
-    "clean": "backstage-cli clean",
-    "mock-data": "./scripts/mock-data.sh"
+    "clean": "backstage-cli clean"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/catalog-model": "^0.1.1-alpha.21",
diff --git a/plugins/github-actions/scripts/mock-data.sh b/plugins/github-actions/scripts/mock-data.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 2653a415dd795..0000000000000
--- a/plugins/github-actions/scripts/mock-data.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-  curl \
-    --location \
-    --request POST 'localhost:7000/catalog/locations' \
-    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-    --data-raw "{\"type\": \"file\", \"target\": \"$(pwd)/scripts/sample.yaml\"}"
-  echo
diff --git a/plugins/graphql/package.json b/plugins/graphql/package.json
index 1612398ea95b9..706592c4307b7 100644
--- a/plugins/graphql/package.json
+++ b/plugins/graphql/package.json
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@
     "test": "backstage-cli test",
     "prepack": "backstage-cli prepack",
     "postpack": "backstage-cli postpack",
-    "clean": "backstage-cli clean",
-    "mock-data": "./scripts/mock-data.sh"
+    "clean": "backstage-cli clean"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/backend-common": "^0.1.1-alpha.21",
diff --git a/plugins/graphql/scripts/mock-data.sh b/plugins/graphql/scripts/mock-data.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index ff30921715ff5..0000000000000
--- a/plugins/graphql/scripts/mock-data.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-echo "use this script to load your service with some mock data if needed!"
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/package.json b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/package.json
index 2fe27f4eb742d..2283dd5d055d9 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/package.json
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/package.json
@@ -17,8 +17,7 @@
     "test": "backstage-cli test",
     "prepack": "backstage-cli prepack",
     "postpack": "backstage-cli postpack",
-    "clean": "backstage-cli clean",
-    "mock-data": "./scripts/mock-data.sh"
+    "clean": "backstage-cli clean"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/backend-common": "^0.1.1-alpha.21",
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/all-templates.yaml b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/all-templates.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1eb619a0729da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/all-templates.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+apiVersion: backstage.io/v1alpha1
+kind: Location
+metadata:
+  name: example-templates
+  description: A collection of all Backstage example templates
+spec:
+  type: github
+  targets:
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/react-ssr-template/template.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/springboot-grpc-template/template.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/create-react-app/template.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/cookiecutter-golang/blob/master/template.yaml
+    - https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/plugins/scaffolder-backend/sample-templates/docs-template/template.yaml
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/scripts/mock-data.sh b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/scripts/mock-data.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 9a9b0b186b36e..0000000000000
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/scripts/mock-data.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-for URL in \
-  'react-ssr-template' \
-  'springboot-grpc-template' \
-  'create-react-app' \
-  'docs-template' \
-; do \
-  curl \
-    --location \
-    --request POST 'localhost:7000/catalog/locations' \
-    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-    --data-raw "{\"type\": \"file\", \"target\": \"$(pwd)/sample-templates/${URL}/template.yaml\"}"
-  echo
-done
-
-curl \
-    --location \
-    --request POST 'localhost:7000/catalog/locations' \
-    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-    --data-raw "{\"type\": \"github\", \"target\": \"https://github.com/spotify/cookiecutter-golang/blob/master/template.yaml\"}"
-echo
diff --git a/plugins/techdocs-backend/README.md b/plugins/techdocs-backend/README.md
index 6a54971788e41..2185c3b3e477c 100644
--- a/plugins/techdocs-backend/README.md
+++ b/plugins/techdocs-backend/README.md
@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ To evaluate TechDocs and have a greater amount of functionality available, inste
 # in one terminal window, run this from from the very root of the Backstage project
 cd packages/backend
 yarn start
-
-# open another terminal window, and run the following from the very root of the Backstage project
-yarn lerna run mock-data
 ```
 
 ## What techdocs-backend does
diff --git a/plugins/techdocs-backend/package.json b/plugins/techdocs-backend/package.json
index edafe31657de2..47b2ebc8aa2d9 100644
--- a/plugins/techdocs-backend/package.json
+++ b/plugins/techdocs-backend/package.json
@@ -17,8 +17,7 @@
     "test": "backstage-cli test",
     "prepack": "backstage-cli prepack",
     "postpack": "backstage-cli postpack",
-    "clean": "backstage-cli clean",
-    "mock-data": "./scripts/mock-data.sh"
+    "clean": "backstage-cli clean"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/backend-common": "^0.1.1-alpha.21",
diff --git a/plugins/techdocs-backend/scripts/mock-data.sh b/plugins/techdocs-backend/scripts/mock-data.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 0630490694ec3..0000000000000
--- a/plugins/techdocs-backend/scripts/mock-data.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-for URL in \
-  'documented-component/documented-component.yaml' \
-; do \
-  curl \
-    --location \
-    --request POST 'localhost:7000/catalog/locations' \
-    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-    --data-raw "{\"type\": \"file\", \"target\": \"$(pwd)/examples/${URL}\"}"
-  echo
-done